Digital Sun will begin with a restricted Discord playtest on 29 October 2026, delaying broader public access to its upcoming game ReVamp.
Digital Sun, the developer behind Moonlighter, has scaled back plans for the first public playtest of its upcoming game ReVamp amid concerns about generative AI-assisted cloning.
The studio had intended to share the game with a large group of players through Steam. Instead, it plans to start with a smaller Discord-based test on 29 October 2026, with access managed more closely.
According to Game Developer, the decision follows reports of games being reverse-engineered and imitated before the original projects have launched. Digital Sun considers the potential exposure of a substantial early build too great a risk at this stage.
ReVamp is a gothic 'Tower Defensevania' in which players control Dracula, build and rearrange a castle, and defend it from attackers. Those interlocking systems are precisely the kind of mechanics that can benefit from public feedback.
PC Gamer reported on 19 October that Digital Sun hopes to hold a wider public test around January. The studio has not alleged that ReVamp itself has already been copied; its decision is precautionary.
Public demos help independent teams attract wishlists, identify bugs and build communities long before release. Limiting access can protect an early build, but it also reduces the number of people who can try the game and share it.
That creates a difficult choice for smaller studios: reveal more to gain visibility, or keep development builds within a trusted group until closer to launch.
Game Developer also highlighted a separate decision involving Drunken Goddess Reflux, whose planned public demo was withdrawn amid similar concerns. The examples do not establish the scale of the problem across the industry, but they show that the perceived risk is already influencing promotional decisions.
Digital Sun's immediate plan is to gather feedback through its Discord community while postponing broader public testing. The move illustrates how questions about protecting original work are becoming part of launch planning, not just discussions about technology.
For players, the next milestone is the limited test on 29 October. For developers, the bigger question is whether more studios will choose controlled access over open demos.
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